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NCAA may modify recruiting deregulation plan

The NCAA is assessing feedback from schools and will "modify as necessary" a package of recruiting deregulations that have been viewed as controversial since being passed by the Div. 1 Board of Directors, NCAA

The NCAA is assessing feedback from schools and will "modify as necessary" a package of recruiting deregulations that have been viewed as controversial since being passed by the Div. 1 Board of Directors, NCAA vice president David Berst told USA TODAY Sports on Thursday.

"We're reaching out to folks to see what they're thinking," Berst said. "You had some football coaches, a few conferences, some institutions that have expressed concerns. I expect, whether you have some number of overrides or just people talking to us, we're going to end up at the next board meeting trying to assess that information and probably modify the legislation accordingly."

In January, the NCAA board adopted a package of 25 deregulatory measures, which took restrictions off things like text messages to recruits and how many staff members are allowed to recruit. Though deregulation has been a central part of NCAA president Mark Emmert's agenda since 2011, some of the proposals caught college administrators off guard.

At a conference meeting earlier this month, Big Ten coaches and athletic directors issued a statement expressing "serious concerns" about parts of the package. Others in the Southeastern Conference, notably Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity, have been outspoken in their concerns about the measures, which they fear will escalate the "arms race" in recruiting even more.

"You can have a 35,000-page, gold-plated media guide, if you want it and you can afford it," Texas coach Mack Brown told reporters last week. "So what I think we will see is more sense put into those rules and not leave it out there like that. The way I understand it right now, starting August 1, you could have a poster sent out every day if you wanted to, and that's not going to fly with schools across the country."

The NCAA allows an override period after proposals are adopted by the Div. 1 Board of Directors. Any proposed overrides would need the support of 75 members (or 25 if it was specific to the Football Bowl Subdivision).

Berst said the NCAA office has already received some override proposals, but the hope is that the national office can collect feedback and let the presidential working group that came up with the proposals have the "first crack" at making adjustments before the next Board of Directors meeting on May 2.

"We're just assessing where everyone is, and our intention is to modify as necessary," Berst said. "We'll try to circulate that to the membership as well probably a couple weeks ahead of the board meeting so people can see what it is if they disagree still."